Pages

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

and let me just say today is a MUCH happier day than yesterday - for sure!

Yesterday I was a bit of a mess - well really all week I have been.

(thanks New Trinity Missionary Society)

but I turned a corner last night/this morning and woke up feeling better and ready to "let it all go"

so I did.

But of course I would be remiss if I did not touch on - lest you all read this and be like "what the heck is she talking about?"

Apparently there was some confusion/discontent about one of my Bachelorette parties

(yes I said one of.....there will be two as my maids of honor won't be here til the week of the wedding)

and it got back to me.

Which resulted in me having hurt feelings and being incredibly frustrated with the 'drama'

(and I use that word quite loosely as it really wasn't that serious)

and a bit of a crying jag at work.

nice. AND professional. but I rallied and made it through the rest of the day with the help of my FAB co-workers.

BUT -

the bright side of this week is we received a wedding present on Monday!

When I came home slightly flustered about guest count,food choices, rsvp's etc... there was a box w/ my name on it!

And it was:

(not exactly that color)

Hooray!!

Thanks to my god sisters Mysheika and Terri and their mother for this lovely gift!!

Totally made my day!Can't wait to bust it out and get my gourmet bake on!!!

And then yesterday after all the tears subsided and I made it home - my flowers arrived!!!

Double Hooray!

I am making pomanders to hang around the ceremony site

(exhibit A)

So I ordered these

and

and for the centerpieces I got these!

And they were all there just waiting patiently for me.

I can't wait to get to putting the Poms together this weekend!!

(of course I made a 'tester' last night)

And one of my Bridesmaids is coming to town this weekend! Yaaay!!

And this AWESOME chick is coming by as well to help me get 'fancy' with the votives

So we can get some QT & crafting in before all the hoopla ensues in 24 short days.

Wow.

It's all happening.

Y'all I am SO in love w/ this man!

I can't wait to be his Mrs!!

I still need to write my vows - I keep crying or think of weird things to say but I know if I just put my mind to it - they will come.So I think I'll wait it out.Maybe next week's update will have a completed vows check mark.

Monday, June 28, 2010

I love that you are the signal of a new week - the catalyst to get me going but I despise how you require me to "get back in the swing of things".

Especially after a weekend as lovely as this past.Kicked off my weekend Friday evening with a little online wedding retail therapy.Translation - I was finally able to use some of that hard earned, well saved money and get the 'supplies' needed to make this whole ceremony/reception come together.Friday afternoon my mother and I went to pick up the centerpiece vases so that was a relief!I ordered the candy for the candy buffet bar, the carnations for the pomanders, and the orchids for the centerpieces.

Hooray! I was kind of bummed by the lack of instant gratification but it was still thrilling never-the-less.Although I will say it was kind of hard to part w/ the money.We have saved for SO long and missed out on so much over the last year so we could save that it was harder than I thought to spend it freely.Fortunately after the 3rd order it got easier.Saturday was fun as there were errands to run and we decided to go as a family.Not sure what I was thinking taking Sweet Pea and Babe to the craft store but we got out of there only $10 lighter so that was good.We then went in search of a futon for our guests to crash on and some more things and before we knew it, it was dinner time. After a quick stop here

We headed home to watch a movie.

I have been wanting to see this for awhile and was glad we were able to watch it as a family. It brought to light some of the issues Black women have with their hair (that is a whole other post)And it was REALLY interesting to see how much some of these women are spending on their hair.Sunday I went to do some makeup in the L.B. and it was a beautiful day, picked up my vases from my mom and trucked on home.Babe grilled us some turkey burgers and I even found the "slider" buns ( or "mini-burger buns" as we like to call them)so Sweet Pea and I were STOKED about that.Then I decided (for some strange reason) to watch the BET awards .Really only because I knew Prince was being honored and all the East Coast Facebookers were commenting on it - so I was intrigued.So I tuned in. And suddenly remembered WHY I don't watch.I'm sure in person it's much more interesting but it always bothers me to see industry folk sitting there looking bored while their contemporaries are rocking the stage.Overall it was just 'mehh'.There was just too much going on and it seemed very.......contrived.I don't know. However I will say this - Chris Brown did a VERY fitting dance tribute to Michael Jackson that gave me goosebumps.I know when MJ passed away last year he really wanted to be part of the tributes but in light of all the "Rihanna Drama" was not really permitted to do so.And last night - he did his thizzle.Hopefully folks will allow him to continue to do his thing now without all the whispers......but I digress.

The weekend was absolutely lovely and here's to a great work week and a 3 day weekend!!!whoo hoo!!!

and then headed out to Long Beach to do some makeup for this fabulous lady.

stopped at the Fabric Barn to pick up some more goodies for my wedding crafts

then stopped by my mothers to get my centerpiece vases.

she wasn't home

that was no bueno but I ran inside anyway to print some receipts and use the bathroom.

On my way in I noticed an pink envelope that was addressed to me & Babe on the kitchen table.

I looked at the return address and saw it was from my Gramma's church

(my home church where I grew up)

in Ohio.

I tossed it in my bag and did what I needed to do.

Went by my Dad's house to wait on my mom and once there I decided to open the card.

It was a card of "Wedding Wishes" and when I opened it I immediately started crying.

It was from all of the women in my Gramma's Missionary Society group.

Her best friends and a few women I'm sure I've met over the years but can't quite recall.

And some of the names were in my Gramma's handwriting.

It was all I could do not to cry out with my sobbing.

I could not believe these women had taken the time to send me a card.

And that it had come at such a poignant time.

This week had been pretty rough for me - emotionally and everything has been setting me off on a crying jag.

The card was no exception.

I could feel the love emanating through it.

I knew these women had prayed over me and loved my Gramma so much that they sought to send me a card to wish us well.

There are no words to express my gratitude.

I called my aunt to chat and told her about the card and she informed me that my Gramma's BFF told her she was going to send it and I just melted.

We spent a good 45 minutes on the phone as it seems we are all having a hard time as of late.

But she reminded me what a blessing this wedding was and how happy she was this was happening now.

"Amber, she says," we need this celebration in our lives. We have been in and out of the darkness for the last few months and now, you all are getting married and its time for us to find joy in that. It's what your Gramma would have wanted."

And she is 100% right.

To the women of New Trinity Baptist Church Missionary Society:

Thank you

for your kind words and wedding wishes.

This card means so much to me.

There really are no words to express my gratitude.

My Gramma loved you all so much and to see how you all have extended that same love to me and my family bowls me over.

I cried when I read the card.

Not because I was sad but because I was overwhelmed by the love that came through.

I was shocked to say the least but realize the timing was just right.

I needed this right now more than anything.

Thank you for being a support to my family both in Ohio and across the states.

You all have been a solid rock on which we can lean and we are forever grateful.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

We have 30 days until the wedding.these weeks just keep flying by........pretty soon we will be two weeks then just one.it's so weird to think this will all be over soon.I have enjoyed all that has gone into it.I could've done without some of the drama but I guess you have to go through it to come out better right?So I am ridiculously excited as things are all falling into place and it really appears as though we might actually pull this off!that blows me away.We've gotten back the majority of our RSVP's back so the guest list is looking pretty tight.Still updating it daily as they trickle in and people confirm.It's funny to me how some people forgot to write in their names and others put the card in an envelope not realizing there was a stamp.As long as we get it back - no worries friends!So this weekend - well it was supposed to be a crafting weekend but as you may know the USA won their group in the World Cup today so we have to re-schedule as my super crafting friend Rachel will be hosting folks in her home for that.Sucks for me but Go USA!!!so I will be attempting to craft this

or something close to it on my own.pray for me y'all!I'm also ordering ALL the candy for the buffet bar, the flowers for the pomanders and the centerpieces on Saturday as well.I. am. so. excited!I have this wonderful friend who has been a WHIZ at researching things/pricing all my 'extras' out for me.Stayed within and under budget on all items, printed or screen shot me images and what not.She is A-MAZING y'all.But of course she is - she's a FIDM Beauty Babe!This kind of makes it even more "real" - once this stuff finally starts rolling in ; my house is really going to look like "wedding central".I already started packing for my honeymoon. Yes - you read that right.30 days in advance.sure did. For one simple reason: when it comes to packing and deciding what to wear I am terribly indecisive and have learned over the years it's best to start early.So I laid out all the bathing suits I want to wear and pulled out my cover-ups and what not.Next thing will be to figure out the shoe situation- yikes!

******Sidebar - so all this wedding planning has been so fun I kind of don't want to stop!I've been toying with the idea of starting some kind of wedding planning business.I mean - tons of people have asked if I would make them invitations, I have ALL these resources at my fingertips, know a ton of photographers and happen to be a makeup artist myself......seems like a good idea in theory.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

ok so we are die-hard, yelling at the TV, coaching from the couch, bleeds Laker purple and gold kind of household.

10 years ago - when I turned 21 they won for the first time in awhile.

the next two years were the same thing.

Always playing on or the day after my birthday and each game more heart wrenching than the next.

so you can only imagine what it's been like in my house the last few weeks.

(for those out of the loop the Lakers are in the NBA finals)

My Babe has been stressed out to the MAX as our team has one of the hardest seasons ever and we have a tendency to pull it out in the 4th quarter which - as a fan- is the hardest thing to sit through.

Every year we go through this kind of stress.

Now, you all know my birthday was last week and they won the day prior.

then they lost the day after.

however, this has happened before.

10 years to be exact.

and tonight.

SWEET. VICTORY is ours.

I happen to be lucky enough to work directly across the street from the staples center and the scene this afternoon was NUTS.

it was like christmas and 4th of july rolled into one.

the energy of the fans was absolutely contagious and as we cruised around L.A. Live during our afternoon beak, eating our ice cream (sorbet for me) I was struck by the feeling of being part of something so BIG.

it was kind of intense.

LA pride is in full effect and the fans are so crazy anything is bound to happen.

I can't WAIT for the parade next week.

Congrats Lakers - you came, you saw, you kicked some Celtic ass!!!

To all the haters - thanks for the motivation to bring it on home to L.A.!!!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

I tried them on and they are super cute! I only hope they look as cute w/ the dress and I can stay standing in them all night!

Tonight I get to go pick up my dress for my final fitting!!! I don't know if I want to cry or scream w/ excitement.

It's all going by so fast!

Planning a wedding is similar to planning for a baby - same type of commitment and love go into it.

With a pregnancy though - the end is the beginning and with a wedding........well when it's over, it's over!

and it's kind of bittersweet actually; we have put so much time and effort into this event and I can't believe in 38 short days it will all be over and all I will have left are the memories, laughs and LOTS of pictures!

I am so looking forward to it though! I can't wait to see how all these separate random elements come together!

This past weekend my fabulous friend Ms. Tiffany and I braved the "mean streets" of downtown Los Angele's Fashion District to pick up some bits and baubles for this shindig.

I got - all of the stuff for my hair fascinator which I was super stressed out about finding AND I got a STEAL of a deal on peacock feathers for the bouquet's, fascinator, boutonniere's and possibly a headband for the little girls. I even have some left over to affix to the guest book!! whoop whoop!!!

I'm gonna be a crafting MACHINE I tell ya!!!

And can I just say that I know some of the most amazing women?

Like, for serious.

I have received so much help in the way of physical, emotional, spiritual and research assistance I don't think I can ever repay these women w/ enough thank you's and hugs!!

I am forever indebted to you all.

You know who you are.

so thats where we are.

I thought I was gonna be super cool and productive and have pics of all the cool things I bought but............

yeah........... clearly that didn't happen AND the Lakers played last night.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

I got a boat load of well wishes on FB that got me a little teary-eyed ,

some cool toys and a ton of sweets and some pretty beautiful flowers as well!

Thanks friends for all the love!

Now on to the good stuff!

The wedding update!!!

ha! you thought I would skip that in light of having a birthday??!!!

child, please.

So - we are trucking right along on in our planning/implementation.

We got 45 days y'all.

45.days.

I can't even deal.

I'm so excited I want to jump out of my skin

but I'm so stressed out I want to hide under a rock!

how is that even possible??

Sigh.

But I will prevail and it will all come together beautifully right?

right.

I'm excited as I have delusions plans to make a trip to the "Garment District" on Sunday in Downtown Los Angeles and get my full craft scout on!!

I have spent the last few days researching the best places to go and who carries what so that when I'm there I am not wasting time just "wandering" the streets.

I have a map and lists of what I need and where these items are in relation to each other.

Yes. I am a ltitle nuerotic.

sue me.

I like to be prepared!

So I'm SUPER excited about that.

I have been itching to do a craft project ever since my 'pomander experiment' and I have spent the last week or so figuring out all the elements and supplies needed and pricing them out to be on budget!

Since tomorrow is "Wedding Wednesday" and also my birthday I was trying to come up w/ a creative way to tie them together.......and yeah. I got nothing.

sorry. guess that's what happens when all the creativity is being slowly siphoned out of you one centerpiece at a time.....

anyway - it all began on a gloomy day in June (hence the perpetually sunny disposition) and no one's life has been 'normal' since.Last year I waxed poetic on turning the big 3-0but this year - I'm not really feeling the nostalgia as much. Perhaps cuz I've sort of "been there done that" ? Perhaps because I'm getting married in 46 short days (really?)and the majority of my energy is focused there.who knows. I am very blessed to have seen yet another year go by.I love the life the I have created and am so happy to wake up each day to a man who loves me unconditionally, a sweet little angel who reminds me why I do what I do each day and family and friends who make each day a little brighter.Life. Is. Good.I have no complaints.This year can only get better as far as I'm concerned.We have so much to look forward to!

I just want to give a quick thanks to my two loves Babe and Sweet Pea for making my family feel so amazing and being the funny characters that you are!!! to all my friends and family - thank you for putting up with all my wedding nonsense! and for being such great sounding boards in regard to career, dreams, hopes, death , friendship and marriage! Here's to the next 30 being JUST as amazing!!!

Since the engagement I haven't really had the opportunity to do as much makeup as I'd like to and it was a great way for me to add to my portfolio as well!

AND it got me thinking about a wedding gift for Babe!!!

Oooh La la!!!

Can't wait to see how the pictures turned out!

I also had the opportunity to meet her fiance Brandon.

Omg! the two of them are so cute together!!!

I am so excited to have gotten to know Melissa and work with her and now to finally meet the love of her life......well all is right in my world!
Babe and Sweet Pea hit the beach for a bonfire with some friends
(sad I missed out on the fun, NOT the copious amount of sand in Sweet Pea's hair)
so their day wasn't too shabby either!

Sunday was a good fun day.

Once again the weather co-operated and was beautiful all day.

We didn't head out until mid afternoon but the much needed extra sleep was greatly appreciated.

Had to make a run to the Men's Warehouse to ensure the ties we picked out were what "we" (read me) were looking for.

Good thing we did!

Our order was all wrong!!

wrong vests, right color.

Could've been all bad when the groomsmen went to pick up their suits!!

Fortunately that was easily resolved as was the tie issue (for now) and we were off to Costco to stock up on the "essentials".

Of course after perusing the ginormous warehouse full of goodies we had to pick up some pizza and a hot dog from their famous food service center!

yummm!

We quickly put the food away and got to business watching the Laker game.

Unfortunately the game was highly disappointing but a simple dinner of spaghetti and warm artisan rustic rolls followed by fresh baked chocolate chip cookies made it all seem better.

My birthday is in a few days so I'm looking forward to a week filled with phone calls and "old lady" jokes.........

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Yesterday began my favorite month of all (my birth month) and that means our wedding is just weeks away!

aaaaack!

how did this all happen so FAST?

where the heck has the time gone?

oh that's right..... I was D.I.Ying our invites at that time.

hrmmph.

anywho - so invitations went out last week and we have already gotten TWO R.S.V.P.'s back already!

Yaay!!!

I've also had some people call to tell me they were coming and that the phone was their R.S.V.P. - "umm thank you but can you please send back the postcard? Yeah I put a stamp on it and everything and I kind of need that for your food choice too........ thaaaaanks".

And with invitations and guest lists come the inevitable " can I bring a friend?" type requests.

Don't take this the wrong way but here's the deal people:

If you are allowed to bring a guest - it will say "and guest" or +1

if the invite is addressed solely to you - assume it's just for you!!!

not the new guy you've been seeing for the past 2 weeks.

I do not know him nor does my fiance, we don't want strangers at our wedding.

thanks.

Not trying to be a bitch about it but this is one of those things I think we are going to have to put our foot down on.

WE are paying for each person and WE only wish to pay for those whom we really want to share in this day.

Not random Tony from down the block.

To all my married friends:

Did this happen to you?

Did you have people show up who didn't RSVP or have people bring extras??

How did you handle it?

We finally decided on a First dance song!

Still need something for the grand entrance for the Wedding party and for us but I'm sure we'll come up with that really soon.

I'm so terrible at this because there are like a million songs out there that I L-O-V-E but we can't use them all right?

right?

what about doing them as a 'mash-up' of sorts?

hmmmmmm- wheels turning again.......

The new website is also up!

Finally! can't tell you all the drama I had to go through to get it completed!

Let's just say it involved my friends in IT making the IT staff at the Knot.com look foolish.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Glorious weekend that it was it wouldn't have been right if I didn't venture out to see the new SATC 2!!!

I am PROUDLY one of the many women who has a minor obsession with

Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte and have taken a huge interest in their lives and love to see how far they have come since the shows inception.

(yes, I am aware they are fictional characters but bear with me)

So when one of my college friends said she was putting together a "Ladies Night" for a viewing I KNEW that I had to be there.

She organized a private screening for me and about 40 friends and family and we had a BLAST.

I was able to invite 4 of my good friends as well as meet new ladies and hang out with old ones!

We were fortunate enough to have the screening at the Gold Class Cinema in Pasadena this past Saturday night!

for those not "in the know" Gold Class Cinemas is a highly advanced movie going experience.

Dinner and a movie? CHECK!!!

And then some!

As you can see from the pic above - all of the seats in each theater are basically fancy recliners and each has a button for calling the waiter , a "cubbie" to stash your purse/jacket/shoes and a little table on which you will eat your dinner.

In the dark.

Because it was a special event there was a lovely little drink menu (hello Tartini!!)

for dinner we had several options to choose from ;none of which I remember other than what I got which was the Surf N' Turf

But before I get to the weekend wrap up I have to talk about the AMAZING event I went to on Friday.

So my good friend Rachel hosted me and 59 other fabulous women at her house Friday evening for Blog*Sugar pt.2!

I was super excited as I missed the first one due to a flat tire (boo)

AND Friday was the beginning of 3 day weekend too so we were able to get out of work early!!

(gasp!)

As I was headed down to the L.B.

(that's Long Beach for those of y'all who may be from elsewhere and like, what the heck is she talkin about!?)

I began to think how blogging has changed my life in so many ways.

I have met and developed relationships with people from all over the country, shared things about myself with strangers that I've never done w/ family, been exposed to new ways of thought, ideas, recipes and crafts.

I have opened my mind and my heart and I couldn't wait to see what was in store.